As CSUN Grows, So Will Funding, Chancellor Says

The California State University system will provide more money for teachers and physical improvements to meet an ambitious growth schedule proposed for the Northridge campus, CSU Chancellor W. Ann Reynolds said Thursday.

Appearing at a meeting of the CSUN Faculty Senate, Reynolds assured skeptical faculty members that campus expansion and the addition of up to 10,000 students over the next eight years would be accompanied by additional state spending. The enrollment at CSUN now is 29,000.

“If I were a faculty member on this campus, I would have the same fears that you have,” Reynolds told the gathering. But CSU system planners “have every belief in the world that you can grow at a planned rate,” she said.

Reynolds said the CSU system would budget money each year to meet the anticipated growth, rather than waiting until enrollment increases and adding money the following year.

Some Northridge instructors are wary of adding students because, they say, plans do not take into account the need for more faculty, classrooms, offices and parking facilities.

Skeptical professors also say academic standards might be lowered to admit a larger number of students. To back their position, they point to this year’s CSUN freshman class, whose average verbal score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test dipped below 400 for the first time in the university’s history.

Reynolds said she was not aware of the low average score and asked Bob Suzuki, CSUN vice president for academic affairs, to investigate and report back to her.

Northridge, along with CSU campuses in San Luis Obispo and Chico, were chosen for accelerated growth because of the popularity of the schools. For the past few years, CSUN has turned away about 2,000 qualified applicants annually because of enrollment limitations.

“You are a desired place to go, and you still have land to build on,” Reynolds said.

The meeting, which lasted almost two hours, had the potential of becoming confrontational because the audience included several vocal critics.

Oil on Water

However, the atmosphere quickly became warm. Reynolds, fending off difficult questions with quips and candor, acknowledged, for instance, that there was little incentive for the faculty to go along with the enrollment plans.

“There really isn’t a lot in it for any of you,” she said. “But we’re all part of California’s shared destiny and the destiny of higher education. We need to collectively provide the opportunity for young people who want to, to get a college degree.

“All I can offer you is a promise to make it as painless as possible,” she added.

CSUN administrators are preparing a response to the growth proposal, which is to include a timetable so that new students are added at a rate established by the university.